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17 Oct 2007
Movie Reviews

Travel makes for good movie watching time and Blockbuster online makes it relatively easy to catch up on some of the more recent movies that I've been wanting to see. I watched "Miss Potter" earlier this week while waiting at the airport for my flight.

This movie plays out a portion of the life of Miss Beatrix Potter. If you havn't heard of Miss Potter, well, I feel sorry for you. Its time to climb out from under that rock you've been hiding under and do some reading, seriously. Beatrix Potter is the best selling children's author of all time, literally bringing her animal friends to life on the pages.

The movie describes how Miss Potter got her start with the illustrations and her storytelling, and a bit about her hunt for a publisher for her books. Without giving away too much, it tells the story of her finding love, loss, and finding love again.

Overall: I give 'Miss Potter' a must see rating. Even if you don't typically like romance movies, I think you'll enjoy this one.

A

07 Oct 2007
Technology
Cars

Tesla Motors has been getting a lot of buzz lately, and its no wonder why. True to the name, Tesla is bringing the all electric car back to market. Electric cars have been done from time to time, but nothing that I know of comes close to the technology that Tesla has developed.

Racing truely is the heart of the automotive industry, and Tesla is demonstrating their understanding of this principle with their inagural product, the Tesla Roadster. This sports car shows its ties to Lotus its design, and its performance will keep even the pickiest driver coming back for more. The latest performance tests demonstrate just how remarkable this all-electric vehicle really is. With a 0 to 60 time of just 3.4 seconds, its sure to glue you to the seat, and with no noisy combustion engine to disturb the neighbors.

In the past, range has been a limiting factor for the electric vehicles - another problem well solved by Tesla. With a range of nearly 250 miles on a single charge, only the longer road trips become a challenge. The normal charging cycle provides plenty of power to keep things rolling for the typical commute. To ensure safety, Tesla has designed the full charging system to protect the user from any possible shock. Charging current only flows through the cables when both the car and the charging station agrees that everything is connected correctly. For driver on the go, a mobile charging system is also available. To top it off, there is also a solar array available that will offset the electrical costs associated with charging the car for about 50 miles of range per day.

All in all, I would *love* to get my hands on one of the Tesla Roadsters. While the ninety thousand dollar price tag is a bit steep, it really is not bad at all for all the car you are getting. Alas, ninety grand is more than I can afford at this time, but perhaps in a couple years the price will come down as production ramps up. I wouldn't be able to get one any time soon anyway, since the entire 2008 prodution run is already sold out. Ahh well.. It doesn't stop me from dreaming.